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Piraeus

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General Information

Other Name: Peiraiás, District: Piraeus, State: Attica, GreeceArea: 0 -Languages Spoken: Greek,French, Italian, and GermanLong Distance Code: 210Importance: Piraeus is famous for its tavernas and restaurants, renowned for their cuisine.Best Time to Visit: September to October and May-JuneInternational Access: Connected to all the major cities of Greece.

Description

Piraeus is a city in the periphery of Attica, Greece, and a municipality within Athens urban area, located 10 km southwest of its center.
The municipality of Piraeus is the third most populous in Greece and the second of the Greek capital following the municipality of Athens, with a population of 175,697 people (in 2001) and an area of 11 km2 (4 sq mi).The Piraeus urban area extends beyond the administrative city limits to the suburban municipalities, with a total population of 466,065 (in 2001) and a land area of 50 km2 (19 sq mi).The city is the administrative capital of the Piraeus Prefecture. Situated upon the Saronic Gulf, Piraeus is the largest passenger port in Europe and the third largest in the world,servicing about 20 million passengers annually. With a throughput of 1.4 million TEUs, Piraeus is placed among the first ten ports in container traffic in Europe and the top container port in Eastern Mediterranean.

Location

Piraeus larger area is situated in the southwest part of the central plain of Attica, which encompasses the Athens agglomeration and is widely known as the Attica Basin. Piraeus is bounded by the Mount Egaleo in the northwest, the Saronic Gulf in the south and west, and is connected with the rest of the Athens urban area in the east and northeast side. Piraeus city proper consists of a peninsula, which was an island in its geological origin, featuring three natural harbours. In addition to the central one, called Kanatharos in ancient times, the smaller harbours to the east are still in use, Zea also known as Pasalimani, and Munichia, the smallest of the three and widely known as Mikrolimano. Nowadays, Piraeus larger urban area includes the suburban harbours of Drapetsona, Keratsini and Perama.